"I spoke to Arda Turan face to face in Barcelona," Goksel Gumusdag said via Basaksehir's official website. "He wants to come Basaksehir. I saw his passion and he told me his goals. After that, we met with Barcelona CEO Oscar Grau.

"Barcelona's approach is positive about this transfer. We would like to sign Arda, despite the high cost. Our two sponsors are willing to help with the transfer process.

"I understand the media are excited and I'm so excited too, but we have to wait. We have a couple of steps to go in order to finish the deal."